Charvel Blog

Stone Sour guitarist Christian Martucci is currently out on the road in support of fresh album Hydrograd, which debuted at No. 8 on the US Billboard 200 and features hit track “Song # 3.” During one of his recent tour stops, Martucci allowed Charvel the unique opportunity of heading sidestage for a close look at his touring rig.

In the video from that visit (available below), Martucci shows off his road case, which just so happens to be loaded with Charvel guitars — from a Jake E Lee signature guitar to an array of customized USA Select guitars.

“I started playing guitar around 1985, and my favorite guitar players at the time and even still to this day were guys like Warren DeMartini and Jake E Lee so Charvel was like the goal,” says Martucci.

As well as explaining what drew him to the Charvel brand, Martucci also gives a quick rundown of the features of each guitar, shares info about his tuning setups and details how he uses each one live or in the studio.

The wait is finally over! Stone Sour have returned with a new music video for “Fabuless,” the first single off upcoming album Hydrograd.

Directed by Paul Brown, the video begins with the band preparing to hit the stage and then segues into a live performance as the song kicks into overdrive. The camera focuses in on each band member, zeroing in on gear that includes a nice shot of Christian Martucci’s Charvel Custom Shop San Dimas Style 1 in Satin Plum, featuring a single humbucking pickup and vintage-style tremolo. As the video continues, the crowd is revealed to include inflatable sky dancers that eventually trade places with the Stone Sour crew.

In addition to the new video, lead singer Corey Taylor recently told BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show more about the album’s direction.

“This album is great because it’s got elements of everything,” he said. “It’s got the heavy energy of the ’80s, there’s punk moments, there’s hard rock moments, all the great amalgam of music. There’s even jazz and hip-hop moments. It’s really, really cool. It’s probably the coolest album I’ve made since the first Slipknot album, let’s put it that way. It’s dope, dude. And, hey, I feel very confident making that statement, because it’s so good.”